ICC denies BCCI-led 'vote-fixing' claims

Last updated on: May 10, 2013 12:39 IST

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has dismissed allegations of vote-fixing following the Tim May affair, saying that '"confusion" over procedures was the reason for a re-vote in a troubled election for one of its committees.

The choosing of former Indian leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan over longtime players' representative Tim May for a place on the ICC's Cricket Committee was viewed by critics as evidence of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) powerful influence over the sport and ICC's continued favoring of its richest member, The Dawn reports.

Following the announcement of Sivaramakrishnan as the new member of its committee after votes by 10 Test captains, the ICC denied having any evidence to back up allegations that some of those captains may have been pressured to choose Sivaramakrishnan because of the might of the Indian cricket board.

The Dubai-based ICC further stated that the re-vote took place according to the determined procedure, adding that it was required because of uncertainty over the process if there was a tied vote and which player should be allowed to vote in countries that have different captains for the test and one-day formats.

According to the report, the entire scenario, with accusations of vote-fixing and a powerful governing body apparently reluctant to investigate itself or change, has parallels with the criticism currently being levelled at world football''s top decision-makers at FIFA. India's dominance of cricket's upper levels has been long accepted because of the country's large population of cricket fans and resulting commercial strength, the report further said.

According to the report, India has significant influence over other cricket-playing countries and often gets their backing because of its ability to enrich them with series against Indian national team, the report added.